Sponge mop



A. M. BAUM May 28, 1963 SPONGE MOP Filed May 2, 1961 Y INVENTOR. ALLANM. BAUM Effi? N. @MW

ATTORNEY United States Patent O" 3,090,985 SPONGE MOP Allan M. Baum,545C Morris Ave., Springfield, NJ. Filed May 2,1961, Ser. No. 116,220 1Claim. (Cl. 15-244) My invention relates generally to sponge mops andspecifically to sponge mops having external contours shaped to fitcurved articles, and further having a removable absorbent cover.

It is yamong the objects of my invention to provide a sponge mop adaptedto cleanse curved surfaces.

lIt is yet another object of my invention to provide a sponge mop thatenables the wielder of the mop to clean surfaces facing away from him,above which he may be standing.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a sponge mop which maybe held at la convenient angle for manipulation, thereby to enable itsapplication to a variety of surfaces having complex curvature andangular disposition.

Among the further objects of my invention is to provide a Sponge mopwhich is relatively inexpensive, sturdy, easy to use, and provided witha cover which is replaceable upon depletion.

'Ihese objects and advantages as well as other objects and advantagesmay be attained by the device shown in the drawings by way ofillustration in which,

FIGURE l is a perspective view of a sponge mop illustrative of theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 in FIGURE 3,looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 3 is la top plan view taken on the line 3-3 in FIGURE 2, lookingin the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 in FIGURE 2,looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the wall of thehousing;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the sponge cover; and

FIGURE 7 is an elevational view of the sponge cover.

The present invention is 1a sponge mop especially designed for cleansingsurfaces difficult to reach such as the near, far and curved sides ofbatbtubs, and similar items having surfaces which intersect in a curve.Accessibility is often impaired by reason of inability to reach orapproach the surface to be cleansed, and the fact that the brush or mopdoes not have a surface which readily conforms to the contour orcurvature of the surface being cleansed. rIhese problems are obviated bya sponge mop, having a long handle, and being provided with a curvedfront, and curved ends which generally conform with the internalcurvature of a bathtub or a similar object. VThe person using a spongemop made in accordance with the present invention is able to manipulatethe mop so that its curved surfaces sweep the curved surfaces of theinterior of the bathtub with a great degree of conformity and consequenteflicient cleansing action.

Referring now to the drawings in detail:

My invention provides a housing 11, preferably formed of plasticmaterial although it may be made of other materials such as wood orymetal and the like. For convenience -in molding the housing 11 ofplastic materials, it may be made in several parts, divided intocomponents at any convenient point and subsequently united to form thehousing 11. The housing 11 is provided with a gen- 3,090,985 PatentedMay 2s, 1963 ice erally dat back 12, a generally tiat front 13 andgenerally at ends 1'4, 15. The back 12 connects with the ends 14, 15 ata sharply defined corner 16. The front 13 however, intersects with theends 14, 15 in a gently curved, smoothly rounded corner 17. Sockets 18are formed in the rear and front walls 12, 13. A socket 1'8 is alsoformed in each of the end walls 14, 15. The bottom 19 of the housing 11is gently curved in general parallelism with the longitudinal axis ofthe housing 11. The top of the housing is enclosed by a top wall 20. Anenlargement 21 extends outwardly and upwardly from the top wall 20 anddefines a socket 22 for the stick 23. The socket 22 extends above thetop wall 20.

As shown in FIGURE 5, the sockets 18, 18 etc. are generally rectangularindentations. They are-provided with a generally T-shaped centralenlargement 24. A cover 25 is provided having general internalconformity in correspondence with the external conguration of thehousing 11. This cover 25 is preferably formed of sponge material suchIas polyurethane foam, sponge rubber or the like. If desired, the covercan be slightly `smaller in dimensions intern-ally than the externaldimensions of the housing 11 so that it will have to be stretched inorder to apply it to the housing 11. Formed integrally on the inside ofthe cover 25, pairs of hooked enlargements 26 are located. Theseenlargements 26 may also be cemented on the inside of the cover 25.Their hooked configuration generally conforms, as shown in FIGURE 6,with the socket 18, shown in FIGURE 5, so that the enlargements 26 maybe press-fitted into the socket 18. Then the space defined between theenlargements 26, being generally T-sh'aped, will accommodate theT-shaped enlargement 24 in the socket and hold the cover 25 in place onthe housing 11.

The handle 23 is preferably set at an angle of 45 degrees to the top 20of the housing 11. It has been found that this makes for ease ofmanipulation of the sponge mop; the gently contoured ends 14, 15 andfront 13 will substantially accommodate themselves to the curvature ofthe object being cleaned so that the cleansing operation proceeds withease even when the sponge mop is being applied to a surface `such as thenear wall of the inside of a bathtub which faces Iaway from the operatorof the sponge mop.

The covers 25 may wear-through, or lose their compressibility, in whichcase they may be easily vstripped olf and a new cover applied, therebycontinuing the life of the housing indefinitely.

The foregoing description is merely intended to illustrate an embodimentof the invention. The component parts have been shown and described.They each may have substitutes which may perform a substantially similarfunction; such substitutes may be known as proper substitutes for thesaid components and may have actually been known or invented before thepresent invention; these substitutes are contemplated as being withinthe yscope of the appended claim, although they are not specicallycatalogued herein.

What is claimed:

A sponge mop comprising,

(a) a rigid support having a generally tubular socket 4adapted toreceive a handle,

(b) a generally at rear surface on the support,

(c) a front surface on the support, a portion of the front surface beingliat,

(d) the front and rear .surfaces converging toward their bottomsv andmerging to dene a convex bottom Surface having a straight crest,

(e) a pair of generally parallel, at, opposed end surfaces on thesupport,

() the end surfaces sharply merging with the rear surface but graduallymerging with the Iat portion of the front surface to define a pair ofgenerally vertically arcuate front corner surfaces,

(g) an elasticised cover of compressible absorbent sponge materialslightly smaller than the support and tted over the front, rear, end,bottom and corner surfaces,

(h) a plurality of sockets in the external surface of the support, v

(i) a T-shaped central enlargement in each of the last mentionedsockets, and

(j) pairs of hooked enlargements on theinside of the cover complementary--to the sockets in the external surface of the support `and the centralenlargement and adapted to engage therewith.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,509,381 Townsend Sept. 23, 1924 2,790,193 Wlding Apr. 30, 19572,817,105 Di Rubbo Dec. 24, 1957 2,977,619 Franzene Apr. 4, 1961 FOREIGNPATENTS 263,480 Switzerland Nov. 16, 1949 503,956 France V V Mar. 29,1920 1,110,749 France Oct. 19, 1955

